Federal Agency Decisions
Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB), each with a plain-English summary, the law it cites, and whether it counts as precedent. More agencies are coming.
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J.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Albany, NY
J.C. (ECAB 12-0552): Reconsideration refusal upheld
J.C., a VA nursing assistant, reported a back injury while restraining a patient. OWCP denied his claim for lack of sufficient medical evidence, and he later requested reconsideration. The Board found that a witness statement addressed an incident already accepted as occurring, while the new…
Know Thyself Contracting
Residential fall protection and training violations affirmed
Know Thyself Contracting performed residential and commercial construction work in Mobile, Alabama. OSHA observed a five-person crew installing decking near an unprotected edge 24 feet above the ground without fall protection. The company did not dispute the hazardous conditions or lack of…
L.M., Executrix of the Estate of W.M., and Department of the Army, Army Depot, Corpus Christi, TX
L.M., executrix of W.M.'s estate (ECAB 11-2103): Chemical exposure claim remanded
W.M. worked on helicopters at an Army depot and alleged that chemical exposure caused diabetes, neuropathy, cancer, and other conditions. His estate's executrix pursued the claim after his death. OWCP accepted some chemical exposure but denied the claimed causal connection. The Board found that a…
C.S. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Leavenworth, KS
C.S. (ECAB 11-1875): Claimed consequential injuries require impartial examination
C.S., a VA supervisor with several accepted injuries, sought to expand her claim to cover additional conditions involving both knees, her lower back, and her right elbow. OWCP denied the request. The Board found a conflict between medical opinions about whether those conditions followed from her…
American Engineering & Development Corp.
Trench citation vacated for employee misconduct
American Engineering & Development was replacing underground utilities in Miami when OSHA found two employees in an excavation more than 5 feet deep without cave-in protection. A backhoe operator temporarily directing the workers had sent them into the trench after the superintendent expressly…
Shaw Global Energy Services, Inc.
Change-house item vacated and mercury recordkeeping violation affirmed
Shaw Global was decommissioning and demolishing a mercury-contaminated cell room at an Alabama chemical plant. OSHA issued eleven serious citation items concerning mercury exposure and one other-than-serious recordkeeping item. The judge affirmed three serious items and the recordkeeping item, but…
Deep South Crane & Rigging Co.
Operator-qualification violations affirmed
Four Deep South employees were fatally injured when a large crane fell backward during assembly at a Texas refinery. The operator had placed the crane in an unstable backwards-overhaul position and left it there for about three hours. The Commission found that Deep South did not give the site…
Matter of A-S-J-
Immigration Judge cannot review DHS asylum termination
The Board reviewed the Department of Homeland Security's appeal after an Immigration Judge restored an Albanian respondent's asylum status and terminated removal proceedings. DHS had terminated the asylum status after alleging fraud in the original asylum application, and the Immigration Judge held…
A.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Honolulu, HI
A.R. (ECAB 12-0702): Related back injury files must be combined
A.R., a postal employee, reported a back injury after moving into his delivery truck to avoid a dog. OWCP accepted that the incident occurred but denied the claim for lack of medical proof linking it to his back condition. The Board found that an earlier back injury file could contain evidence…
W.J. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Watts Bar Nuclear Plant, Chattanooga, TN
W.J. (ECAB 12-0672): Life insurance premium overpayment upheld
W.J., a Tennessee Valley Authority worker receiving injury compensation, kept life insurance coverage after leaving federal employment. OWCP failed to deduct the insurance premiums from his compensation for many years, despite his inquiries. OWCP found an $8,366.89 overpayment and agreed that he…
L.S. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Milwaukee, WI
L.S. (ECAB 12-0661): Schedule award rating returned for proper method
L.S., a postal employee with an accepted cervical disc condition, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of his arms. After an earlier Board remand, OWCP obtained a new examination and granted an increased award. The Board found that the physicians rated a brachial plexus condition even…
J.A. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Bellmawr, NJ
J.A. (ECAB 12-0654): Three percent left leg schedule award upheld
J.A., a postal letter carrier, injured his left knee at work and received a schedule award for three percent left leg impairment. He sought a larger award based on a physician's rating that assumed both medial and lateral meniscus surgery. The Board found that the record supported medial meniscus…
J.K. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dover, NH
J.K. (ECAB 12-0646): Left shoulder occupational disease denial upheld
J.K., a postal letter carrier, attributed a left rotator cuff tear to carrying mail bundles and a satchel on his route. OWCP accepted his account of those duties but denied the claim for lack of medical evidence connecting the tear to the work. The Board found that a checked box on a workers'…
M.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Sumner, WA
M.G. (ECAB 12-0566): Pay rate finding required before overpayment decision
M.G., a postal rural carrier with an accepted back injury, received wage loss compensation after OWCP accepted a recurrence of disability. OWCP later found it had used the wrong pay rate and declared a $17,087.19 overpayment. The Board found that OWCP had not properly determined her pay rate at the…
D.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Livonia, MI
D.G. (ECAB 12-0374): Chiropractor's x-ray finding requires further review
D.G., a postal city carrier, reported back pain after stepping off a snow mound while delivering mail. OWCP accepted that the work incident occurred but denied the injury claim, finding her chiropractor's reports insufficient. The Board found that the chiropractor had diagnosed a spinal subluxation…
G.C. and Department of the Navy, Naval Submarine Base, Groton, CT
G.C. (ECAB 12-0340): Recurrence of disability denial upheld
G.C., a Navy supply technician, had accepted cervical injuries after slipping on ice at work in 1994. She later claimed a recurrence of disability beginning in January 2009. The Board found that her physicians' reports did not adequately explain how the accepted injury continued to cause disability…
D.S. and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Washington, DC
D.S. (ECAB 12-0919): Late reconsideration request denied
D.S., a National Park Service police officer, reported that a horse stepped on his foot during training. OWCP denied the injury claim after receiving no medical evidence during its initial review. D.S. sought reconsideration more than a year later and supplied a physician's report. The Board found…
J.W. and Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, Columbus, OH
J.W. (ECAB 12-0896): Shopping injury outside temporary duty assignment
J.W., a Defense Logistics Agency contract specialist, was teaching a course in Philadelphia on temporary duty. After leaving the worksite, she slipped in a clothing store and reported a back injury. The Board recognized that employees on official travel are covered for activities reasonably…
A.C. and Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Birmingham, AL
A.C. (ECAB 12-0824): Wage loss overpayment recovery upheld
A.C., a VA employee, increased her work schedule from four to six hours a day but continued receiving compensation for four hours of wage loss. OWCP found a $2,896.64 overpayment and determined that she was not at fault. The Board upheld the overpayment and found that she had not supplied the…
T.L. and Department of the Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, San Diego, CA
T.L. (ECAB 12-0768): Emotional condition claim denial upheld
T.L., a Navy sheet metal mechanic, attributed stress to interactions with his supervisor and alleged harassment and unfair work assignments. OWCP denied his claim. The Board found no corroborating evidence of the alleged harassment or verbal abuse and no showing that the work assignments involved…
G.B. and Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Holtsville, NY
G.B. (ECAB 12-0588): Knee schedule award premature before recovery
G.B., an IRS technician with an accepted right knee condition, sought a schedule award for permanent impairment. A physician advised that his impairment could not yet be rated because knee replacement surgery and recovery were pending. The Board upheld OWCP's denial of the award because the medical…
R.C. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Colorado Springs, CO
R.C. (ECAB 12-0584): Emotional condition claim lacked a proven work factor
R.C., a postal rural carrier, attributed stress to alleged harassment, work assignments, and denial of a requested shorter schedule. OWCP denied his claim. The Board found that he had not substantiated verbal abuse or discrimination and had not shown error or abuse in the employer's administrative…
E.F. and Tennessee Valley Authority, Muscle Shoals, AL
E.F. (ECAB 12-0538): Hearing loss claim needs employer audiograms
E.F., a Tennessee Valley Authority laborer, attributed hearing loss to years of workplace noise. OWCP accepted that he had been exposed to noise but denied the claim for lack of medical proof connecting the hearing loss to that exposure. The Board found that the record lacked audiograms from the…
P.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Louisiana Performance Cluster, New Orleans, LA
P.J. (ECAB 11-2057): Proven work error lacked medical causation proof
P.J., a modified postal carrier, reported an emotional reaction after his supervisor instructed him to clock in and wait in a break room without work. A grievance decision found that the instruction violated the employment agreement, so the Board accepted it as a compensable work factor. The Board…
American Federation of Government Employees, Local 2145 and United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia
AFGE Local 2145 and Richmond VA Medical Center (FLRA 0-AR-4840): Food reimbursement denied
A VA medical center stopped announcing the union's Lunch & Learn events over its public address system. An arbitrator found that this violated the parties' agreement, but later refused to order reimbursement for food the union had bought for an event. The union challenged the refusal. The Authority…
Deatley Crushing Company
Final assessment reopened for further proceedings
Deatley Crushing Company asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment that had become a final order after the contest deadline passed. The decision does not state why Deatley missed the deadline. The Secretary did not oppose reopening. The Commission granted relief in the interests…
Scabtron
Unreceived assessment never became final
Scabtron asked the Commission to reopen a proposed penalty assessment it said it never received. After receiving a delinquency letter from the Department of Treasury, the company paid the penalties in full. The Secretary confirmed that the assessment had been returned undelivered and did not oppose…
H & K Materials, Inc.
Late contest reopened after paralegal's personal emergency
H & K Materials promptly sent a proposed penalty assessment to counsel for contest. Counsel missed the deadline because the paralegal responsible for filing was experiencing a serious personal problem, despite the firm's otherwise adequate docketing system. After discovering the error, counsel…
Frasure Creek Mining, LLC
Late contest reopened after security routing failure
Frasure Creek's security guard received a proposed penalty assessment but failed to forward it to management as instructed. The company learned of the final assessment only after receiving a delinquency notice and then promptly sought reopening. Frasure said it had contested the underlying citation…
J.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Newark, NJ
J.T. (ECAB 12-0812): Reconsideration refusal upheld
J.T., a postal letter carrier, reported right knee pain after a work incident. OWCP denied the claim for lack of sufficient medical evidence identifying an injury. He requested reconsideration and said he was sending new medical evidence, but OWCP did not receive it before deciding the request. The…
R.R. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Los Angeles, CA
R.R. (ECAB 12-0782): Right shoulder occupational disease denial upheld
R.R., a postal mail handler, attributed a right rotator cuff tear to carrying a mailbag and opening doors at work. His medical history also included a bicycle accident affecting that shoulder. A physician said the tear likely predated the accident and was highly likely related to his work, but did…
E.S. and Social Security Administration, Field Office, Fort Worth, TX
E.S. (ECAB 12-0679): File cabinet incident accepted, injury denial upheld
E.S., a Social Security Administration case technician, reported that she twisted her body while stopping a file cabinet from falling at work. OWCP denied the claim after finding that the incident itself was not established. The Board found sufficient evidence that it occurred, but concluded that…
A.G. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Islandia, NY
A.G. (ECAB 12-0659): Back injury claim denial upheld
A.G., a postal letter carrier, slipped on ice during his route and reported a back injury. Medical records referred to possible spinal compression fractures, but the x-rays did not confirm acute fractures. The Board found that the treating physician's fracture assessment was tentative and that his…
P.B. and Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Atlanta, GA
P.B. (ECAB 12-0438): Census pay rate overpayment upheld
P.B., a temporary Census Bureau enumerator, injured his shoulder at work and received disability compensation. OWCP later found that it had based his payments on a weekly rate higher than the rate applicable to his intermittent position. The Board upheld the $7,277.85 overpayment calculation after…
L.P. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, Buffalo, NY
L.P. (ECAB 12-0168): Eye impairment award needs explained rating
L.P., a Customs and Border Protection officer, sustained accepted eye injuries after being pepper sprayed at work and received a schedule award for 21 percent left eye impairment. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser had not adequately explained the figures used to reach that percentage…
H.H. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Dayton International Airport, Vandalia, OH
H.H. (ECAB 11-1831): Vocational rehabilitation benefit reduction reversed
H.H., a former airport security screener with an accepted back injury, participated in vocational rehabilitation while receiving wage loss compensation. OWCP reduced her benefits after finding that she had failed to cooperate with the counselor. The Board found that she had attended and…
E.L. and Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Portland International Airport, Portland, OR
E.L. (ECAB 11-1046): Compensation forfeiture and overpayment reversed
E.L., an airport security screener receiving compensation for an accepted back injury, occasionally signed transfer documents for his father's gunsmith business. OWCP treated those activities as unreported work and declared a $76,092.48 overpayment. The Board found no proof that E.L. earned wages…
National Treasury Employees Union and United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
NTEU and CBP (FLRA 0-NG-3073): Interview provision disapproval rescinded
The union and Customs and Border Protection agreed to an interview provision that applied employee protections when agency representatives, including Department of Homeland Security inspector general personnel, conducted investigations. DHS disapproved the provision, arguing that bargaining about…
United States Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service and National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 73
IRS and NTEU Chapter 73 (FLRA 0-AR-4704): Tax withholding overpayment waiver upheld
The IRS continued withholding Florence, Kentucky, city taxes at the old rate after the city raised it. The agency later made up the shortfall through larger deductions from employees' pay. An arbitrator found that the underdeductions had caused erroneous overpayments and ordered the IRS to waive…
United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and National Treasury Employees Union
CBP and NTEU (FLRA 0-AR-4359): Investigative interview protections upheld
A union agreement required certain notices and representation protections when Customs and Border Protection employees were interviewed during investigations. An arbitrator found that CBP violated the agreement when Department of Homeland Security inspector general personnel interviewed CBP…
Secretary of Labor on behalf of Clinton Ray Ward v. Argus Energy WV, LLC
Temporary reinstatement affirmed over disputed evidence
Clinton Ray Ward, a chief electrician at Argus Energy's Deep Mine No. 8, alleged that he was demoted and then fired after complaining about water accumulations near mine seals. An MSHA inspection produced a citation for water that prevented travel of a return entry during a weekly examination, and…
Willie P. Burrell and the Willie P. Burrell Trust
In re Willie P. Burrell and the Willie P. Burrell Trust (EAB TSCA Appeal No. 11-05): Default finding and penalty affirmed
Willie P. Burrell and the Willie P. Burrell Trust leased apartment units covered by EPA's Lead Paint Disclosure Rule. EPA alleged that they failed to provide required lead-paint disclosures and related information for six rental properties. They did not file a timely answer to the administrative…
C.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dayton, OR
C.H. (ECAB 12-0795): Reconsideration refusal upheld
C.H., a postal mail clerk with an accepted back injury, received a reduction in compensation based on a selected office clerk position. She asked OWCP to reconsider and supplied a Board decision from another case. The Board found that she had not explained how that decision applied to her case or…
D.A. and Social Security Administration, Kansas City, MO
D.A. (ECAB 12-0769): Emotional condition claim not reopened
D.A., a Social Security Administration claims representative, attributed several health problems to work stress. OWCP denied his claim after finding no compensable employment factor, and he requested reconsideration. The Board found that his new submission repeated earlier allegations and that…
J.A. and Department of the Air Force, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, AZ
J.A. (ECAB 12-0680): Seven percent right arm award upheld
J.A., an Air Force motor vehicle operator, ruptured his right biceps tendon while trying to stop a fall from a truck. OWCP granted a schedule award for seven percent permanent impairment of the right arm. The Board found that OWCP's medical adviser had properly applied the sixth edition of the…
D.T. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Dallas, TX
D.T. (ECAB 12-0503): Leg awards and arm reconsideration refusal upheld
D.T., a retired postal clerk with accepted spine and upper extremity conditions, received schedule awards for permanent impairment. The Board found that her physician properly used the applicable impairment tables to rate each leg at 14 percent, and it upheld those awards. She also challenged a…
F.R. and Department of Homeland Security, Customs & Border Protection, Eagle Pass, TX
F.R. (ECAB 12-0424): Benefits termination and late review request affirmed
F.R., a Customs and Border Protection officer, received compensation for an accepted lower back injury after lifting a metal box at work. OWCP later terminated his wage loss and medical benefits based on an impartial specialist's opinion that the accepted conditions had resolved and he could return…
K.S. and Department of Navy, Naval Air Systems Command, San Diego, CA
K.S. (ECAB 11-2021): Benefits termination reversed for lack of notice
K.S., a Navy supervisor, received compensation and medical care for accepted bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. After his treating surgeon reviewed a surveillance video and released him to work, OWCP ended wage loss and medical benefits. The Board found no evidence that OWCP first gave K.S. the…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Piedmont, MO
D.L. (ECAB 11-1971): Arm impairment claim returned for medical review
D.L., a postal carrier associate, sought a schedule award for permanent left arm impairment after a work-related motor vehicle accident. OWCP denied the claim, relying in part on the absence of a need for continuing medical treatment. The Board explained that permanent impairment can exist even…
A.W. and Department of the Navy, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, NH
A.W. (ECAB 11-1915): Rescinded leg award and pay rate upheld
A.W., a Navy shipyard worker, received a schedule award for left leg impairment after an accepted back strain. The Board found that the medical evidence did not establish permanent leg impairment caused by the accepted strains, so OWCP properly rescinded the award. It also upheld OWCP's refusal to…
Thueson Construction Co., and/or Thueson Construction, Inc.
Nineteen violations affirmed with penalties reduced to $25,028
Thueson Construction operated a portable sand and gravel crusher and stipulated to nineteen safety violations, including eleven guarding violations. Eight violations were designated significant and substantial, twelve involved high negligence, and the company accepted the stated gravity…
D.L. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Baldwinsville, NY
D.L. (ECAB 12-0821): Injury claim denial upheld for insufficient medical evidence
D.L., a postal rural carrier, reported pain near her right rib cage after retrieving parcels from a hamper at work. The Board accepted that the work incident occurred. Her physician recorded mid-back pain and checked a box saying the condition was work related, but did not explain how the activity…
K.P. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Santa Clarita, CA
K.P. (ECAB 12-0691): Wage loss claim denied for insufficient medical support
K.P., a postal mail handler, injured his left ankle while stepping down from a forklift, and OWCP accepted an ankle sprain. He sought wage loss compensation for periods between January 10 and June 18, 2011. His treating physician submitted disability slips and noted ongoing pain, but did not…
L.H. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, San Antonio, TX
L.H. (ECAB 12-0519): Schedule award denial upheld after zero impairment rating
L.H., a postal supervisor, had accepted neck and lower back disc conditions after a work injury. He sought a schedule award for permanent impairment of his arms and legs. The Board explained that a spinal injury can support an award for a scheduled limb, but the medical evidence must establish a…
H.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Brooklyn, NY
H.J. (ECAB 12-0450): Wrist sprain benefit termination upheld
H.J., a postal driver, received benefits after OWCP accepted a right wrist sprain. OWCP later ended compensation based on a second opinion physician's examination and conclusion that the sprain had resolved. The Board found that opinion well reasoned and gave it greater weight than the treating…
T.F. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, St. Petersburg, FL
T.F. (ECAB 12-0439): Emotional condition claim returned for medical review
T.F., a postal electronic technician, attributed an emotional condition to a coworker's conduct and alleged that management failed to stop harassment. The Board found evidence that the coworker patted T.F. on the back in May 2010, which qualified as a workplace factor for the claim. It found the…
S.G. and Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Philadelphia, PA
S.G. (ECAB 12-0386): Emotional condition claim denial upheld
S.G., a Bureau of Labor Statistics economic assistant, attributed an emotional condition to job demands, time constraints, monitoring, and performance reviews. The Board found that he did not substantiate a specific regular work duty as the source of the condition. It treated the challenged…
E.J. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, North Riverside, IL
E.J. (ECAB 12-0383): Additional schedule award barred after suitable work refusal
E.J., a postal distribution clerk, previously had compensation terminated effective March 12, 1998 for refusing an offer of suitable work. She later sought an additional schedule award for arm impairment. OWCP's medical adviser dated the newly claimed maximum medical improvement to January 20…
B.G. and Department of the Navy, Naval Supply Systems Command, Mechanicsburg, PA
B.G. (ECAB 11-0568): Computer use claim denied for insufficient medical explanation
B.G., a Navy financial information specialist, reported hand and right forearm symptoms that she attributed to keyboarding. Her job description established that she used a computer daily. Her orthopedic surgeon noted testing showing mild right carpal tunnel syndrome and said the symptoms were…
S.B. and U.S. Postal Service, Post Office, Huntington, WV
S.B. (ECAB 12-0819): Fourteen percent leg schedule award upheld
S.B., a postal clerk with an accepted back injury, received a schedule award for 14 percent permanent impairment of his left leg. He sought a higher rating and a separate award for his foot. The Board found OWCP's medical adviser had used the applicable method for rating lower extremity impairment…
What these documents are
- The agencies: Federal workers' compensation appeals from the Department of Labor's Employees' Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB), federal-sector labor-relations cases from the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), mine-safety cases from the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), workplace-safety cases from the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), Longshore Act and Black Lung Benefits Act appeals from the Department of Labor's Benefits Review Board (BRB), precedent decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), environmental permit and penalty appeals from the EPA's Environmental Appeals Board (EAB), and whistleblower and other labor appeals from the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB). Each decision page names its agency.
- Commission, Board and Authority decisions: Rulings by the agency's highest review level (the Commission at OSHRC and FMSHRC, the Authority at FLRA, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Administrative Review Board at Labor, and the Environmental Appeals Board at EPA). These are citable as precedent, though a decision may have been appealed to a U.S. Court of Appeals after issuance.
- ALJ decisions: Rulings by the agency's Administrative Law Judges after a hearing. When no Commissioner directs review, an ALJ decision becomes a final order that binds the parties in that case but is not binding precedent: under 29 U.S.C. § 661(j) at OSHRC, and after the 40-day window of 30 U.S.C. § 823(d)(1) at FMSHRC.
- Why finality matters: Every page here says which kind of decision you are reading, so you know whether it is precedent you can cite or a final order that only shows how one judge ruled on one set of facts.
- Where they come from: Every page links the official public release from the deciding agency, and the full text on the page is that release. The plain-English summaries are written by Ezel.